February/National Freedom Day
Columbia Tragedy
Oceans and Seas
2003 Trip to Japan, etc. #1
2003 Trip to Japan, etc. #2
2003 Trip to Japan, etc. #3
2003 Trip to Japan, etc. #4
2003 Trip to Japan, etc. #5
2003 Trip to Japan, etc. #6
2003 Trip to Japan, etc. #7
2003 Trip to Japan, etc. #8
2003 Trip to Japan, etc. #9
February/National Freedom Day
03/02/02
It is interesting how the months of the year received their names. As noted in a previous message, January, the first month of the year, was named after the two-faced Roman god, Janus, who was able to see both the past and the future and was the god of beginnings. The name of this second month of the year, February, is derived from the Latin word for "feast of purification," because in ancient Rome, ceremonies of religious purification were observed at that time. In present-day Japan, months are simply designated by numbers, so this month is "Second month." In old Japan, however, lunar calendar months had other names and the name of this second month implied a month of change, whether in the plant world as new sprouts began to appear or in the human world as people put on more clothes because of the cold weather. It was on the first day of February in 1865 that President Abraham Lincoln signed the document abolishing slavery in the United States, so February 1st has been designated National Freedom Day. The document, passed by Congress on January 31st was later ratified by three-fourths of the states and, in December 1865, became the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which states that "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist in the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." The abolition of slavery was a kind of "purification" for the United States and citizens of all countries today also should consider what dirty elements in their traditions or national life need to be purified. (538)
Columbia Tragedy
03/02/05
According to a rhyme many children learn in elementary school, "In fourteen hundred and ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue." After more than two months since leaving Spain, Christopher Columbus and his crew of some 88 men in three ships landed on an island off the coast of the continent now called North America. During the Revolutionary period, when the colonies were breaking their ties with England, there was some expectation that the new nation would be called Columbia in his honor, but it was named after the Italian navigator and map maker, Americus Vespucci. Now there is a country in South America named Colombia. Due to Spanish influence, the name of that country is spelled with an "o" in the center, but the 9 cities and towns and 8 counties in the United States of America named Columbia are spelled with a "u" in the center, corresponding to the Italian spelling. And the nation's capital is the District of Columbia where the Capitol is located. This past weekend, many radio and television stations in the U. S. A. were focused on the tragedy that occurred when a space shuttle, named Columbia, disintegrated in the skies over Texas a few minutes before it was scheduled to land in Florida, following 16 days of scientific research on weightlessness in space. All seven crew members, five men and two women, six Americans and one Israeli, were killed and the debris from the explosion was scattered over three states. It was a sad time for the whole nation as the cause of the accident is being investigated and we are forced to think deeply about our values and national priorities. (539)
Oceans and Seas
03/02/07
The third letter in the English alphabet is the letter C. There are also two other English words pronounced the same as that letter. One is a verb, spelled s-e-e. It signifies what we do with our eyes or our minds. The other, a noun spelled s-e-a, denotes a large body of salt water. The term "seven seas" is sometimes used to mean all the oceans of the world, but others have divided that large body of salt water which covers most of the earth's surface into seven parts. Before reading the rest of this message, you might stop and see how many oceans or seas you can name and locate. The "Seven Seas" include the North and South Pacific Oceans, the North and South Atlantic Oceans, the Indian Ocean, the Arctic Ocean and the Antarctic Ocean. Certain sections of the oceans or other large bodies of salt water have been given the names of seas. Three of these seas have been given names related to colors. The long and narrow Red Sea lies between the Arabian Peninsula and the continent of Africa. The Yellow Sea is a part of the North Pacific Ocean between China and Korea. And the Black Sea lies between Russia and Turkey. Other seas are the Mediterranean Sea, Caribbean Sea, Arabian Sea, Caspian Sea, Bering Sea, North Sea, East China Sea, South China Sea, Baltic Sea, Sea of Japan and the Sea of Okhotsk. The Sea of Galilee is a body of fresh water in the land of Palestine from which water flows along the Jordan River into the Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth, in which there is no life. According to the first chapter of the Gospel of Mark, Jesus began his ministry along the Sea of Galilee. (532)
2003 Trip to Japan, etc. #1
03/02/08
The Annual Meeting of the Penney Retirement Community Association was held on Monday evening, February 3rd. It was preceded by 20 minutes of music played by the Sunshine Band, which is composed of residents of PRC. A new resident has now joined the band and added his violin to the trumpets, trombones, French horns, clarinet, tuba, drum, xylophone and piano. My wife and I enjoyed the musical, carefully listened to and approved reports of the association officers and the selection of new officers even though we were scheduled to leave early the next morning from an airport, over an hour away, on the first leg of our trip to Japan. A gracious couple had offered to drive us to a motel near the airport after the meeting, so we had our suitcases packed and placed in their car before the meeting began. Immediately after the meeting, we went to the motel. The "key" to a room at that motel is a card with an electronic code on it that is inserted into a slot in the door of a particular room. However, because of some trouble with the machine, the clerk was unable to create that electronic key-card, so a security guard let us into our room and we spent the night there without a key. In the morning, with our four heavy suitcases, my laptop computer and two other pieces of "carryon" luggage, we boarded a shuttle bus at 5:45 and arrived at the airport to check in an hour and a half before the departure time of the plane we were scheduled to board. We then sat down to wait until the boarding time, but then something unexpectedly happened that greatly altered our plans. (540)
2003 Trip to Japan, etc. #2
03/02/11
Early in the morning of February 4, my wife and I were relaxing in the waiting area of Jacksonville Airport, relieved that we had gotten there in plenty of time to check in for our 7:30 flight to Atlanta, where we were scheduled to board a plane for Tokyo. While waiting, I returned to the check in counter to inquire about our seats and was informed that the plane might be late; if it was, we would miss our connecting flight to Tokyo. I was advised to change our plans, take an earlier flight to Dallas from which we could take a plane on a different airline to Tokyo. I agreed to do so. The counter attendant made the new reservations, issued new tickets and assured me that the four suitcases we had already checked on the flights we had planned to take would be transferred to those on our revised schedule. I informed my wife of the change and we went to the gate to board the earlier flight. If we had taken the flight to Atlanta, the transfer to the flight to Tokyo would have been simple for we would be using the same airline, but Dallas Airport is larger and airlines use different terminals so we were confused. We had to wait for a shuttle train to take us to Terminal A from Terminal E. We got off at Station 4 of Terminal A, boarded an elevator and found that our flight left from Station 1, so we had to descend and wait for another train to take us there. Fortunately, we did not have to carry our heavy suitcases for they had been checked through to Sapporo on our previous tickets but we were concerned about their whereabouts, for we would be very cold if the warm clothing they contained would be unavailable. (541)
2003 Trip to Japan, etc. #3
03/02/13
At the Dallas Airport, I enquired about the luggage that had been checked through to Sapporo and was informed that it could not be verified that it would be on our flight but that it probably would be. We would have to claim it in Tokyo to go through customs and recheck it through to Sapporo anyway. When going through the security checks at both Jacksonville and Dallas, however, I was singled out for special consideration. Sometimes, it is an honor to be singled out, but this time it was an embarrassment. I had gone through security checks before and always put metallic items I remembered I had on or with me (watch, ring, coins and keys) in a tray before going through the security arch, but the buzzer sounded when I walked through at both airports and I had to be examined separately. In both cases, a security guard scanned my body with a rod that resembled a billy club with a sensor attached. First, I sat down with legs extended and he examined my feet and legs. Then I stood with arms outstreched, like a scarecrow, while he examined my arms and body. And what did he find? I will continue that story and related incidents in my next message, but we were relieved to see our suitcases among the first ones to come along the moving belt from the airplane at Tokyo. In the U. S. we were told that checked luggage should be unlocked in case there seemed to be reason for investigating the contents, but before boarding the plane for Sapporo, we were told to lock the suitcases. I presume that the difference is not that Japanese workers are less trustworthy but that the U. S. is in a higher state of security alert. (542)
2003 Trip to Japan, etc. #4
03/02/15
Since we were headed for Japan where shoes are left at entrances of homes, I had a small shoehorn in my pocket with a metal ring attached which, along with my large belt buckle, attracted the attention of the sensor at the security checkpoint. The metal tie clasp at my neck attracted the attention of the sensor at one airport but not at the other and I recalled a couple of incidents many years ago that showed that all systems are not the same. Following a natural disaster in the Philippines, boxes of clothes weighing less than a certain number of kilograms could be mailed at a reduced rate, so our churches packed a number of boxes to send. When I took them to one post office in Nagoya, some were a bit overweight and were refused. But when I took them to a different post office, they weighed less on the scales there and were accepted. Later, when traveling in the Soviet Union with my family, we were required to remain in an airport for a couple of hours. We were the only people in that part of the airport and there were no airport personnel around, so our younger son went from one check in counter to another and stood on the scales to see on which one his weight was the lightest. Later, it was to that counter we went to check in. Once, in the Philippines, the tiny scissors I had used to trim my beard in Davao was taken from me and I had to claim them at the weapons counter in Manila. We should remember that our daily activities are also being monitored in the eyes of God and of those around us. Whether or not they pass inspection depends upon the system used to evaluate them and the accuracy of that system. (543)
2003 Trip to Japan, etc. #5
03/02/18
One of the two carry on items I kept with me in airplanes and airports was the laptop computer I am now using to compose this message. At Dallas Airport, I found a place where the computer could be plugged in and used. After a struggle, I finally got connected and was able to read an e-mail message that I understood to mean that we had hotel reservations in Sapporo for the night of our arrival. At the Tokyo Airport, following the 13 hour flight, we were happy to claim the four heavy suitcases we had checked at Jacksonville but unhappy we had to transport them by ourselves to the shuttle bus that took us to the terminal from which our plane left for Sapporo. Fortunately, a man with less baggage kindly assisted us. At Sapporo also, a man helped put our suitcases in the entry area of a car on the train for the 45 minute ride from the airport to the city. He got off the train before we arrived, but another man volunteered to help us, even though he had a suitcase and backpack of his own. He also hailed a taxi for us at the station and told us our hotel was on the way to his destination, so he took the same taxi. When we got to our hotel and our suitcases had been placed on the sidewalk, I realized that my attache case, with many important documents in it, was not there. The man suggested that it had been left at the station and I was very upset, but when the taxi driver reopened the trunk, it was found in a corner there. It was about 9 o'clock in the evening when we went to the front desk and asked about our reservations. To our great surprise, we were informed that we did not have any. So what did we do? (Continued) (544)
2003 Trip to Japan, etc. #6
03/02/20
Before leaving for Japan, I had tried to find lodging for us in Sapporo through various sources and had received a message from a travel agent that a reservation at a certain hotel had been made, but when we got to that hotel, we found that to be mistaken. When I showed the message on my laptop computer to the hotel clerk, he conferred with others at the front desk who agreed that no reservation had been made. They were not acquainted with the travel agent that sent the message and tried to call that agent (in Thailand!) but did not succeed. Because the only double room available that night was too expensive for us, they called another hotel and made a reservation for us there. Since they had 2 single rooms available at a lower price the next night, we reserved them, left a couple of our suitcases there and went to the other hotel. The purpose of our trip to Sapporo was to see the beautiful snow and ice sculptures exhibited during the annual Snow Festival which began the day of our arrival and lasted for a week. My wife had always wanted to attend that festival when we lived in Japan but was never able to do so. We spent the next day viewing beautiful snow and ice sculptures at three different locations, to two of which we traveled by subway: huge models of castles, palaces, famous cartoon characters, smaller representations of many things and snow slides for children. A Chinese group of dancers on stilts performed before the Imperial Palace and some sculptures were still being finished by skillful artisans from other lands. It was a marvelous sight and well worth our while to see them while it snowed. (545)
2003 Trip to Japan, etc. #7
03/02/22
Sapporo is located on the northern island of Japan and is cold at this time of year. We wore overcoats while there and kept them on while slurping buckwheat noodles for lunch in a temporary eating place at one of the sculpture sites. It was in the afternoon that we visited the third site where the artfully honed ice sculptures filled the center section of a street with traffic moving in opposite directions on both sides. The festival attracted over two million visitors and a new record of over 12,300 snowmen had been made. Later, we returned to our hotel, packed our bags and took a taxi to the other hotel where we had reserved two single rooms. I was amazed at how young, female hotel employees who looked so frail were able to move our heavy suitcases so efficiently. The next morning, we filled a taxicab with our bodies and luggage and went to the train station. When boarding the train and disembarking at the airport station, considerate people helped us with our suitcases which almost completely filled the entry/exit section of the car. In the airport, we had to make our way to the check in counter with our four large suitcases (three of which had rollers, but the sturdy old suitcase my wife used in college did not) plus an attache case, my laptop computer and my wife's carry on bag. At times, we had to leave a couple of suitcases at the bottom of stairs or other places and come back for them. Once again I was stopped at the security checkpoint. I had forgotten that I had separated my American and Japanese coins and the sensor detected the American coins in my upper coat pocket. (546)
2003 Trip to Japan, etc. #8
03/02/25
After claiming our luggage and placing them on a cart at the Nagoya Airport, we were happy to see a Japanese lady we recognized as we approached the exit. Then our son, a university teacher of English, also appeared. We had hoped the house he is in the process of building would be finished by this time, but it is not. Two years ago when we visited here, the apartment below the one he and his family are renting was available for us to stay in, but now it is occupied. The Japanese lady who we have known for many years knew of our need for a place to stay, had informed us of an apartment next to hers which was available, so we are staying there and even have a car at our disposal. The car has a "car navigation system" which shows our present location on a map on the dashboard and can be programmed to indicate the route to a particular destination along with voiced directions about when and what direction to turn to reach it. Of course, this is in Japanese, which we do understand, but my wife must remind me at times to drive on the left side of the street. The next day, we went to see the house our son is building: a two-storey house with a basement, family room and separate rooms for each of the 3 children. Teaching full time at one university and part-time at two others as well as being an active member of the Board of Nagoya International School, he spends all of his spare time working on that house which, hopefully, will be finished before our next visit. On our trip thus far, we have been very conscious of the providence of God in guiding our steps and providing for our needs and we are thankful. (547)
2003 Trip to Japan, etc. #9
03/02/27
The key to the 3rd floor apartment we are using may be used to open the main gate at the entrance to the building also, but to open the gate at the back requires a coded number to be punched in. One day, I went out without the key and forgot the coded number. When I punched in our apartment number, my wife heard a bell but did not know it was me nor did she know what to do. I looked to make sure no one was watching and then surreptitiously climbed over the back gate to enter the building. On Sunday, we drove to the city of Kariya, an hour away, to attend the worship service of the church we started there fifty years ago. We were happy to meet the Japanese pastor and his wife along with old and new members. I preached the sermon. My text was John 15:1-10 where Jesus refers to himself as a vine and his disciples as branches. Branches cannot bear fruit unless they are connected to the vine and Christians must have a spiritual connection to Christ to bear the fruit of love and stimulate the growth of a healthy church. In the afternoon, we went to Nagoya Union Church, which we also attended years ago. In the evening, we visited the apartment of our son. Since roads have changed over the years and since we did not have the car navigation system correctly programmed, we were often confused as we drove around. At one intersection where the traffic light was red, I stopped next to a taxicab at the head of a line of cars, opened my window and asked for directions. The driver told me I should turn right at that intersection and told me to go in front of him to do so. We are thankful for the kindness of people here.. (548)